When it really comes down to it, people buy consoles for games. The media capabilities and online functionality are great and all, but a poll of more than 2,450 hardcore gamers who attended EGX 2013 indicates that the most important purchasing factor is what exclusive games the console manufacturer has been able to lock down.
The survey was conducted in the UK, which means that neither the PlayStation 4 nor Xbox One has reached retailers quiet yet. Xbox One will be first to launch, with games like Forza 5, Killer Instinct, Dead Rising 3, Ryse: Son of Rome, and Fighter Within rounding out its exclusive offerings. The PS4, on the other hand, hits one week later and only has Resogun, Killzone: Shadowfall and Knack to boost it up.
How much do these games matter? 34 percent of those surveyed agreed that exclusive software is the number one factor when deciding which console to buy, with price following close behind at 29 percent. Brand loyalty came next at 11 percent of voters, while owning the same hardware as their friends was top of the list for 10 percent of attendees. DRM policies and online services such as Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network followed with 8 and 6 percent of the votes, respectively.
The Xbox One has more exclusive games, but the PlayStation 4 is the cheaper option worldwide. The lack of killer software hasn’t stopped the PS4 from selling more than a million units in North America, but we’ll just have to wait and see if that translates to the UK.
